Ok, so this week I was a little apprehensive about the game I was going to review. Medal of Honor holds a special place in my heart as one of the finest WWII shooters I’ve played. I still have fond memories of attempting to storm the beach at Normandy, only to be shot to pieces as soon as I’ve stepped of the boat. Last week Medal of Honor was released, with the series set in Afghanistan and focusing on hunting Al-Qaeda. As per usual before a big game release, I checked out IGN’s review and was astonished. They gave it a 6. That means that the game is just passable. For a game this big, a 6 is just beyond belief. But I was intent on at least trying is out, if nothing else to see if it was as bad as they said.
And I am glad I did. This game is fantastic. The visuals are spectacular, giving many moments where you want to pause to really soak it in (even though you’ll probably die doing so). As I said this game is set in Afghanistan, so you won’t be speeding down the side of a hill on a snowmobile while shooting at bad guys like James Bond, as you did in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. You see it’s hard to look at MoH without comparing it. For the record CoD was given a 9.4 from IGN, and sort of set the bar of military first person shooters.
One of the issues brought up regarding MoH was the lack of character development, which I will agree with. You never find out who your character is and why they joined the army. But then again, do you really need to? The game play is great, well paced with spectacular set pieces that give you an epic cinematic feeling, without resorting to a “Do this and save America the world” mood. It feels gritty and real. Everything from the sound of gun fire to the dust being whipped up around you adds to this, and to that extent it becomes an immersive experience.
The multiplayer was actually developed by a different studio (Dice) who were responsible for Battlefield Bad Company 2, and has a solid, polished feel to it. The ultimate test came on Thursday night when I was playing it and time came to turn it off and call it a night. My initial reaction was “aww”, and regret that I couldn’t play just one more map. There are a few different modes to help keep it interesting, including objective based death match, team death match and more. It also features a leveling system, although the number of classes is a bit lacking at only 3.
So the big question is, is this game worth getting?
My answer is yes. The game, in my opinion, is fantastic. Where CoD is like watching Commando, MoH is more like Saving Private Ryan. It feels real and gritty, not over the top set pieces with increasingly more outlandish stunts and action. Of course, this all may change with CoD Black Ops comes out next month.
On a side note I learnt a lesson. Never take a review for granted. Especially with companies like Game offering 7 day return policy. If you think you may like a game, I say grab it, try it and if its crap *cough Kane and Lynch cough*, and if so return it and get your money back.
Next week: Splinter Cell Conviction. A little older, a little wiser.
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